Monday, May 26, 2008

Hello? I'm still here lahhhh :D

W'sup peeps.....Its been awhile. I've been busy resting, recovering, working out and training my running again. Working out is fine but running is really a pain in the ass. I love running...I'm not complaining but it seems harder for now. Its either my running pace is too fast or my stamina has deteriorated. Whatever the case is...I have 2 more weeks to train before my upcoming run on 15th of June! More details later.

Some updates for last week :D Me and my sayang went to The Gardens and found this place called Gurney Drive, yea yea...that "Penang" Gurney Drive.


o.O It's the lighting, not my camera.


Pretty cool eh? How often do you get to see this? Apart from coming to this place of course.


Wutz this? The menu =)

Browsed through the menu and my girlfriend ordered Curry Laksa while I ordered the Fried Kuey Teow.

"Stalls"?


Bling Bling Char Kuey Teow "stall"


Waited for about 5 to 10mins...the Laksa was ready.


Followed by our drinks....


Ambra with sour plum juice or something like that. The other? Barley

My Char Kuey Teow? I had to wait like 20mins for it. I asked the waiter about 4 times to check if its ready. As Ramsay would say "HOLY FUCK What the fuck are you doing? Fry the Kuey Teow and get the food out there? Where are your bullocks? Not really nice to let a customer to wait for 20mins for CHAR KUEY TEOW? But fine...I'll see how good it tastes.



Char Kuey Teow...need I say more? Yes..that is LAP CHEONG. PORK



MY NEW GYM! Since I'm working out from home now, I went to my sister's condo to use the gym last Saturday. It ain't much but hey! I get to do my back, Chest, Shoulder and LEGS! On to the pictures of my new toy!...er okay not "MY" new toy but its free to use anyway...so....enjoy the pics!


What do you call this huge ass machine again?


Leg Press


Chest Press, Shoulder Press?


Pulldown, for back and lats. It can also be used for Bicep Curl...There is a diagram to guide you for that, so I ain't gonna explain :D


Leg Extension....bloody hell, whose foot print is that? Kurang ajar...don't spoil the gym!


Weight plates...left is in KG unit and right is in lbs unit..POUND


Stationary Bike, Elliptical Trainer, and treadmill. Oh and...the Gym ball LOL There are two of them in the gym.


Now for my other new toys. I decided to get a thicker socks for running. Previously, my thick socks made me have blisters after long runs. May be it is because of the material used but anyway, I switched to thin ones from Nike(Sorry forgot the actual name for it..Sports I think). I have 2 pairs of the thin Sport nike socks...with arch support.

Now that I'm using thin socks, my shoe feels kinda loose. I bought this new Tactel - sports moisture wicking socks from Nike. I tested it yesterday evening( 26.05.2008 ) and it felt alright although I ran ONLY ONE KILOMETER. The material is nylon, air flow was okay and my toes didn't feel like it's rubbing aggressively against something rough which might cause blisters(my previous chiplak thick cotton socks).


RM15.90


Whatever this means....

I also bought a multi vitamin and minerals...might be a wrong brand to get but was trying it out. The lady said its a local brand.. Hovid but it is a public listed company or some shit. The shop was opposite GIANT at 1 Utama's new wing.



Yada yada yada



Pardon my hairy leg


Again, pardon my hairy leg.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Pneumonia? WTF is that?

With regards with my recent pneumonia and high fever crap....I still can't exercise yet. So really gotta take it easy for this month. My colleague A told me with all seriousness, that another colleague B's mum passed away because of pneumonia when she was still young.

When A's dad was hospitalized because of pneumonia, B was so worried and kept asking A about his condition. Oh both of them are from Philippine. Anyway, so what is this pneumonia. Honestly, even though I've been discharged like 2 weeks back, I haven't really done any reading on it so...today I shall do a post on this pneumonia which is causing all this trouble.

Pneumonia from Freakipedia.

Okay, so did wikipedia confused the hell out of you? At least there are some pictures to explain it but here is a more simple detail on pneumonia HERE

Now for the serious one. After reading it, I was scared because the way of getting pneumonia...was like how I got infected....Read on as I bolded and commented the original article with my explanation. Seriously..OMG man.

How do people "catch pneumonia"?

Some cases of pneumonia are contracted by breathing in small droplets that contain the organisms(the drizzle during the Orange BHP 9KM run) that can cause pneumonia. These droplets get into the air when a person infected with these germs coughs or sneezes. In other cases, pneumonia is caused when bacteria or viruses that are normally present in the mouth, throat, or nose inadvertently enter the lung. During sleep, it is quite common for people to aspirate secretions from the mouth, throat, or nose. Normally, the body's reflex response (coughing back up the secretions) and immune system will prevent the aspirated organisms from causing pneumonia. However, if a person is in a weakened condition from another illness, a severe pneumonia can develop. People with recent viral infections, lung disease, heart disease, and swallowing problems, as well as alcoholics, drug users, and those who have suffered a strokeseizure are at higher risk for developing pneumonia than the general population.

Once organisms enter the lungs, they usually settle in the air sacs of the lung where they rapidly grow in number. This area of the lung then becomes filled with fluid and pus as the body attempts to fight off the infection.

What are pneumonia symptoms and signs?

Most people who develop pneumonia initially have symptoms of a cold which are then followed by a high fever (sometimes as high as 104(40 Celsuis) degrees Fahrenheit)(Mine was 38.8 Celsius), shaking chills, and a cough with sputum production(I had this but not so much sputum). The sputum is usually discolored and sometimes bloody. People with pneumonia may become short of breath(Nope, didnt experience this). The only pain fibers in the lung are on the surface of the lung, in the area known as the pleura. Chest pain may develop if the outer pleural aspects of the lung are involved. This pain is usually sharp and worsens when taking a deep breath, known as pleuritic pain.

In other cases of pneumonia, there can be a slow onset of symptoms. A worsening cough(YES, bloody hell), headaches(Nope, I didnt experience this), and muscle aches(Nope, I didnt experience this) may be the only symptoms. In some people with pneumonia, coughing is not a major symptom because the infection is located in areas of the lung away from the larger airways. At times, the individual's skin color may change and become dusky or purplish (a condition known as "cyanosis") due to their blood being poorly oxygenated(On Thursday before i was warded, yes...my fingers were a little purplish).

Children and babies who develop pneumonia often do not have any specific signs of a chest infection but develop a fever, appear quite ill, and can become lethargic. Elderly people may also have few symptoms with pneumonia.

Pneumonia Illustration


How is pneumonia diagnosed?

Pneumonia may be suspected when the doctor examines the patient and hears coarse breathing or crackling sounds when listening to a portion of the chest with a stethoscope(The doctor did listen to my chest and back). There may be wheezing, or the sounds of breathing may be faint in a particular area of the chest. A chest x-ray is usually ordered to confirm the diagnosis of pneumonia(Yes, the X-Ray confirmed it for my case). The lungs have several segments referred to as lobes, usually two on the left and three on the right. When the pneumonia affects one of these lobes it is often referred to as lobar pneumonia. Some pneumonias have a more patchy distribution that does not involve specific lobes. In the past, when both lungs where involved in the infection, the term "double pneumonia" was used. This term is rarely used today.

Sputum samples can be collected and examined under the microscope. If the pneumonia is caused by bacteria or fungi, the organisms can often be detected by this examination. A sample of the sputum can be grown in special incubators, and the offending organism can be subsequently identified. It is important to understand that the sputum specimen must contain little saliva from the mouth and be delivered to the laboratory fairly quickly. Otherwise, overgrowth of noninfecting bacteria may predominate.(Didnt collect any sputum samples)

A blood test that measures white blood cell count (WBC) may be performed. An individual's white blood cell count can often give a hint as to the severity of the pneumonia and whether it is caused by bacteria or a virus. An increased number of neutrophils, one type of WBC, is seen in bacterial infections, whereas an increase in lymphocytes, another type of WBC, is seen in viral infections.(In the end, both my blood test results just confirms that it is a viral infection)

Bronchoscopy is a procedure in which a thin, flexible, lighted viewing tube is inserted into the nose or mouth after a local anesthetic is administered. The breathing passages can then be directly examined by the doctor, and specimens from the infected part of the lung can be obtained.(Nope, didn't do through this crap)

Sometimes, fluid collects in the pleural space around the lung as a result of the inflammation from pneumonia. This fluid is called a pleural effusion. If the amount of this fluid that develops is large enough, it can be removed by inserting a needle into the chest cavity and withdrawing the fluid with a syringe in a procedure called a thoracentesis. In some cases, this fluid can become severely inflamed (parapneumonic effusion) or infected (empyema) and may need to be removed by more aggressive surgical procedures.








Monday, May 12, 2008

What have I been eating now that I'm alone at home?

Just a short update :)

So what have I been eating? I cook once in awhile...also tar pau chap fan but here are just one of the few things I've cooked at home..it ain't much but hey....at least I can cook okay? =P


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Carbonara but using spaghetti. Pork meatballs and some chicken breast meat which my mum prepared earlier before going back to Sitiawan.

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Black sauce broadnoodles with pork meatball, chicken breast, cabbage and garlic =)


Okay enough of food I know you guys are drooling already. I finally got my chin up/pull up bar. Incase you guys didn't know, I've been looking for this since February or something...every where I go, I keep getting "TAK ADA STOCK" and "STOCK BELUM DATANG". I got this from Fitness Concept at 1 Utama for RM45.90. They said the stock just arrived that day(Saturday 10.05.2008) but whatever. I haven't installed it as I have to drill the holders....not sure when I'm going to set it up but I'll do it soon.

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The quality ain't that good but I'll update again once I've tried it out.

Thanks for reading =)

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

I AM BACK!

What happened to me ever since the Orange run? Not so good. Here goes

After the Orange BHP run, my 3rd toe got black nail...

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This picture was taken way back. The color is a lot darker now. I'm too lazy to take another picture but you guys get the picture.

Orange Run was on the 13.04.2008(Sunday)

I started coughing on the 17.04.2008(Thursday) and got high fever on 18.04.2008(Friday). Thinking it was a normal high fever and cough, I went to see the doctor at Poliklinik Chan near my area on 19.04.2008(Saturday). So I took my medication, rested and drank plenty of water. However, my cough and fever didnt seem to show signs of improvement.

On 20.04.2008(Sunday), went to Columbia Asia for another check up. Doctor said it's better to have a blood test to see if its viral or bacteria type of fever.

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Blood Test....

After all those checks, the doctor said it was still too early to tell if it is dengue but it is a viral infection so antibiotics will not help at all. He didn't give me any extra medication and just told me to continue to take my medication and see what happens.

I was on medical leave on 21.04.2008(Monday). My high fever was playing around with me....it gets better then it comes back after a few hours. I went to office on 22.04.2008(Tuesday) thinking my high fever is gone but I was still coughing. Couldn't stand the air con in the office as I was coughing badly, I asked permission to work from home for the next 2 days.

I'm like seriously, what the fuck is going on. On the 23.04.2008, I went back to Columbia Asia to have my second blood test and the results did not show any drastic changes. Thank God it is not dengue. Again, I couldn't do my work and had to take medical leave for the next two days.

On 24.04.2008(Thursday), I felt so bad till breathing was getting difficult, hands almost numb and curling on its own...I mean fingers both left and right hand will turn inwards on its own. I was about to go to Sunway Medical Centre when my aunty quickly suggested that my grandma do this thing called "Chi Mo Tan" or something. Basically, we boiled some hardboiled eggs and with the shell still intact, wrap it with a handkerchief and rub it against my chest and back area.

IT FELT GOOD. Seriously, I could feel the heat from my body being drawn out. Feeling better, I took my medicine, and rested. Sweated ALOT that night and my body felt so much better till I think I was well again...except for the fucking cough.

Friday...25.04.2008, my sister brought me to Sunway Medical Centre for a normal check up. The doctor does general consultation but she is also a lung specialist or something. She said its better to do a X-Ray scan of my chest. Went down to ground floor to do the X-Ray and came back up to 1st floor.

"THERE IT IS....Sorry Andrew but you have to be warded. You've got some lungs infection called pneumonia*while she points at the white spots in the X-Ray picture" I went WTF * in my head of course*

I was WARDED immediately that very same day. Coincidently, that was the same day my girlfriend's mum was getting discharged. And my ward(2 bedded) was NEXT to her ward(4 bedded)

First they took some blood for more testing. Next was the needle for the drip. It wasn't painful actually. They started the drip till about Sunday morning where the doctor said I don't have to be on the drip anymore but the antibiotic is given according time i guess.

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The first needle for the drip

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They changed it into some T-Pipe where 1 is for the antibiotics and the other for the normal drip.

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The antibiotic..

Anyway, it wasn't painful till they removed the normal drip and I only had to take the antibiotics when it was time for it. They use those injection thingy but of course..without the needle. The nurse just connected it to the needle which was already sticking into me. It hurts a little when the antibiotic was being injected.

Apart from all that, I was on the road of recovery. The food was good and fresh.

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The Menu

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The Kuey Teow Soup (Breakfast)

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Lou She Fun Soup(Breakfast)

For breakfast, those kuey teow and lou she fun soup are the main ones....and is accompanied by:

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Milo and Apple Juice(Breakfast)

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Wholemeal bread, butter and Strawberry Jam

Dinner :D

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Spaghetti (Dinner)

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Chicken, Veg and Rice.

Took 1 lame picture on Sunday...a day before I'll be discharged.

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So that is pretty much it...Thank God for my company's Insurance....Don't get me wrong, I DO have insurance but I used my company's ING card :)

The bill? RM2773+. For what? 4 days? 3 meals. Medication and consultation.

For now, as in REALLY NOW, I'm in the office. My lungs are recovering...the doctor told me it will take awhile before I'm fully recovered. So I won't be exercising for awhile. Heck I've lost weight.

From 71KG, I'm like 68~69KG. Its not that I want to lose any more weight...but I think I've lost my muscle mass.

Also another note, I won't be going to any gym for now. I will workout from home like I used to. Since I already know what I could do, my dumbbells would do just fine. After all, I ain't a bodybuilder but just a guy that wants to look and feel healthy.

Till then, I'll be resting.

Thanks for reading :)